Most modern operating systems provide a rich graphical user interface (GUI) as the primary means of interacting between a user and the applications and resources of the system. GUIs, while useful to most people, impose a significant challenge to those with disabilities such as blindness, visual impairment, and gross or fine motor challenges.
An individual with a physical or visual impairment or similar disability may install and utilize accessibility software on their personal computer. Accessibility software may provide a set of tools to assist a physically or visually impaired user. The set of tools includes a screen reader that reads the text being displayed on the screen, and a navigation tool to allow a user to navigate the operating system GUI using only the keyboard, or in some cases by adapting a pointing device (e.g., mouse) input.
Typically, the screen readers, such as JAWS™ and Window Eyes™ may operate on Windows™ environment. The screen reader VoiceOver™ produced by Apple Inc., located in Cupertino, Calif. may be used for Macintosh™ environment. The screen reader may identify and interpret what is being displayed on the screen. This interpretation may be represented to the user with text-to-speech, sound icons, or a Braille output.
FIG. 1A illustrates a typical Braille device 103 having a Braille code of a text 104 displayed on a computer screen 101. As shown in FIG. 1A, an I-beam 105 positioned between letters “r” and “s” (113) of the text 104 is displayed on a computer screen 101. Generally, the I-beam is an indicator for a point (location) where an input (for example, a user input) is inserted into a text onto the computer screen. Text 104 is represented by a line of Braille code 102 on Braille device 103. Each character (e.g., a letter of a text 104) may be represented in a single Braille cell, such as a cell 107, as shown in FIG. 1A.
FIG. 1B illustrates a typical Braille cell 107. As shown in FIG. 1B, Braille cell 107 has eight pins 121-128 that may rise and fall depending on the electrical signal they may receive. Typically, upper pins 121-126 referred as Braille dots 1-6, are used to represent a character. Lower pins 127-128 referred as Braille dots 7-8, are typically used to convey additional information about a displayed text. For one example, dots 7-8 of the Braille cell may be used to indicate that the character represented by a Braille cell, is selected. For another example, dots 7-8 of a single Braille cell may be used to indicate the I-beam 105 on the screen 101.
Referring back to FIG. 1A, the raised pins are illustrated by filled circles, and the pins that are lowered are illustrated by empty circles. As shown in FIG. 1A, dot 7 (109) and dot 8 (110) of cell 107 are used to indicate I-beam 105. As shown in FIG. 1A, dots 7 and 8 belong to single cell 107 that represents a character 113 (“letter “s”) that follows (immediately to the right of) I-beam 105 and denote the character 113, and does not denote the actual position of the I-beam 105. Therefore, using dots 7 and 8 of the single cell to indicate the I-beam 105 does not convey to a user with impaired vision the actual location of the I-beam 105 on the computer screen 101, as a sighted user sees. That is, the information that a user with the impaired vision receives from the Braille device 103 does not accurately describe what a sighted user sees on screen 101.
As a result, the user with impaired vision may not even be aware of the existence of the I-beam 105 on computer screen 101. Additionally, the user with impaired vision may not know where the inserted characters are going to be placed when the user starts to insert (e.g., type, and/or paste) the characters into the text. That impacts the ability of the user with the impaired vision to effectively interact with a computer system, and/or collaborate with a sighted user.